Running Trampled Paths
by rumiio
Summary: The battle between light and shadow will always be written in blood. In a broken Hyrule, under a new reign, Link finds himself responsible for the fight once more. Forced to realize his world's true essence, he struggles with the destiny he did not ask for. no specific game universe; no specific pairing; dark, gory, mature; realistic.


Title: Running Trampled Paths

Author: sysranda

Category: The Legend of Zelda

Characters (per chapter): Link, Zelda, Dark Link, Ganondorf

Pairings (overall): inconclusive

Rating (overall): M (rated for explicitly described scenes of death, gore, and blood. mature and sexual scenes to be determined with story progression.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo and the immensely successful The Legend of Zelda series. I tip my hat in recognition of the creative ideas and intellectual imagination necessary for creating the masterpieces that inspired me to begin this project.

**▲ opening – A New Reign**

At first, there are only flashes of blacks and whites and greens and reds. Ganondorf's chuckles are heard, somewhere deep and hidden, like a haunting, menacing sound that cannot be placed. Slowly, the flashes become more distinct forms. It's a struggling Link, writhing and in obvious pain, fighting against an invisible enemy. He grunts and thrashes, throwing himself against the force holding him down, but even his toned strength cannot escape. Suddenly everything is calm. Link lays motionless, his eyes closed, on the dirty ground somewhere in Hyrule field.

A slightly dirty Link enters Hyrule Castle's grounds. The guards greet him with respect, each with a nod and bow. This is Hyrule's renowned Hero. He vanquished the evil that was threatening the lands and saved Hyrule's Princess Zelda's life. Link doesn't acknowledge the two guards as he passes them into the castle, and he misses the worried exchange of glances the two guards share behind his back. This is not like Link at all.

As Link travels the numerous hallways leading to the throne room at the top of the castle, there are cries of joy and happiness erupting from servants and others as they notice him, but Link doesn't acknowledge any of it. He's silent, bowing his head, watching his feet walk.

The throne room doors open with the nudge of Link's hand, and he dismisses the two guards just inside the doors with a wave of his hand. Princess Zelda is backing Link, staring out the window near the throne. When she hears his footsteps, Zelda turns her head abruptly, surprised. Slowly, she takes in Link standing at the door, and her face breaks into a pleasantly astonished smile. "Link!" she gasps.

Zelda begins running towards Link, and halfway across the throne room, she holds her arms out, her skirt bustling behind her as she runs. Having now seen him in a while, she is overjoyed at the sight of Link returning. Her arms are splayed for a hug from her best friend when suddenly, she freezes, stopping short with a gasping jerk. Zelda's arms sag and fall to her side. The only sound in the throne room is the sounds of Zelda and Link's breathing, ragged and short. Breaking the silence, Link sheathes his sword, and Zelda falls to her knees, clutching her abdomen. The blood is spreading through the fabric of her dress and seeping past her clutched fingers. It's obvious what Link has done. Zelda slumps down, coughing up blood, hacked and pained.

Zelda tilts her head forward, searching Link's blank stare. She coughs again and falls to the ground, landing heavily on one side. Blood dribbles out of the side of Zelda's lips, and with the last of her strength, Zelda reaches an arm out towards Link, who is still watching her, impassive, with glazed, dead eyes. There's a bright flash, and a white light stems from Zelda's hand and shoots through Link. It's radiant in its color, and surrounded by pure energy. Link makes a choking, guttural noise as it strikes him, struggling to breathe, just as Zelda coughs up another mouthful of blood and takes her last rattled breath.

Silence returns to the throne room as Link stands motionless over Zelda's body. He begins glowing, a soft, bright white - the same color as Zelda's final magic. Suddenly, Link gasps for breath, jerking as if away from something and taking a few steps back. Zelda's magic has set him free, but the deed is done. His gaze immediately falls to Zelda's dead form, and he runs a few steps to her, his mouth agape in a silent, horrified scream.

The blood seeps into his pants as he kneels in her blood, and Link frantically gestures, knowing it's too late but not believing this all the same. Link has blood splattered on his tunic, and being the only person in the throne room along with Zelda, it's not difficult to ascertain what transpired when he was locked in his own mind.

Link wraps Zelda into his arms, burying his face into the crook of her shoulder, unstained by blood until his hands touched her cooling skin. Link has seen his fair share of deaths, perhaps even more than his share, but none have made him sob like this. His quiet cries shake both their bodies.

Link doesn't hear the footsteps creeping stealthily behind him. He doesn't hear the whistle of the blade as it cuts through air behind his back, but he feels the rip of skin, flesh, bone, pain, pain, pain. Link's body jerks and freezes, much like when he stabbed Zelda through her abdomen, and he gasps in agonized shock.

A solid black sword protrudes from Link's back, and the owner stands over Link's slumped body. His shadowy hand is still on the hilt of his sword, and with a solid tug, Dark Link yanks the sword from Link's body. Link immediately falls forward, his eyes fluttering, weak and drained, collapsing onto Zelda's body.

Dark Link sheathes his replicated master sword and turns towards the throne, stepping over the entwined forms of Link and Zelda's bodies. He pauses, his red eyes shifting to the side, to the shadows of the throne room. A vague figure materializes from the shadows, and Dark Link's jaw clenches before he drops to one knee in salute.

Ganondorf is revealed, stepping entirely out of the shadows. He proudly looks at the dead Zelda and Link lying in their own pools of blood on the throne room's tiled floor. He turns to Dark Link, but before he speaks, noise from the stairwell outside the throne room alerts them to the presence of Hyrule's guards. Link's strange behavior hadn't escaped the keenly trained guards, and they feared the sudden change in demeanor. Ganondorf and Dark Link turn their gaze to the still open doorway, before Ganondorf turns back to Dark Link and gestures for him to arise with a still-chuckling nod.

The guards appear in the doorway, and immediately, alarmed cries are sounded at the sight of Ganondorf and Dark Link standing over the dead bodies of Hyrule's princess and hero. The guards charge into the throne room, all brandishing their spears with war cries. Sounds of chainmail and armor pieces clashing sound as the guards run towards the two evil presences standing over the two benevolent ones, but it's apparent that their numbers are too little.

Dark Link draws his sword, and he smiles and crooked grin before charging towards the guards. He slashes, rolls, jumps and dodges with flips through the air. Dark Link fights like Link does, strong and powerful and skillful, and the ten guards that chose to fight stand no chance.

Ganondorf watches from the side as Dark Link does his dirty work; the sounds of Dark Link's sword slipping through flesh, always coupled with the grunt and dying yell of a guard, cause him to grin even wider. Soon, Dark Link stands amidst the bloody remains of multitudes of bodies, including Link and Zelda. He is bleeding in several place and his blood drips as a black liquid to the ground, but they are all minor wounds. He catches his breath and sheathes his sword before turning back to Ganondorf.

He silently watches as Ganondorf turns and, with his heavy steps, makes his way to the throne of Hyrule. Dark Link steps over the bodies in his way, including Link and Zelda's still entwined forms, and walks closer to the throne-side of the room, where Ganondorf has reached the throne.

Ganondorf unbuckles the sheath and sword from his hip and takes them into his hand. He slowly begins to take a seat, and he rests the tip of the sheath and sword contained within on the rug beneath him. Dark Link drops slowly to one knee, bowing his head and showing his submission. The air is thick with the smell of blood, nearly nauseating, and the silence, contrasting greatly with the sounds of battle only moments before, is nearly deafening. Ganondorf sits completely on the throne, his posture languid and relaxed. With a triumphant smirk, Ganondorf chuckles, deep and menacing. Dark Link looks up from the ground and grins, his red eyes anticipatory.

The reign of Ganondorf has begun.

**▲ opening – A New Reign**


End file.
